Archive for the ‘hollywood’ Category

From Michael Vick to Jim Brown there is a parade of “Bad Boys” from the NFL, other sports and Hollywood. We are not saints; just people. Now Plaxico Burress gets 15 minutes of fame not for a Super bowl touchdown but for shooting hemself in the foot, er, leg….

Suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick(R) leaves Surry County Circuit Court after entering a guilty plea on two felony counts connected to dog fighting in Sussex, Virginia. Under a plea agreement, Vick, who is currently serving a term in prison for federal dog fighting charges, will serve one-year of probation for the state charges.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Geoff Burke)

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The weekend self-injury of New York Giants star badboy Plaxico Burress, who sustained a personal injury gunshot in the leg when an illegally concealed weapon accidentally went off may have a few others in hot water.

In New York state, it is a misdemeanor for a hospital not to report a gunshot wound to the police, and according to reports, that is exactly what happened. It appears that several employees of New York-Cornell Hospital, who treated Burress, did not contact the police. The New York State Department of Health is investigating to see if information was deliberately hidden to protect Burress. Additionally the hospital itself has admitted it has suspended an employee for not following procedure. The hospital says it is their policy to contact the police in regards to all gunshot patients.

Meanwhile Antonio Pierce, another New York Giant who was with Burress at the club Latin Quarter during the injury and aftermath, is being sought for questioning by police. It appears, however, that he ditched the cops yesterday in favor of a paid radio appearance. Pierce also is reported to have spoken to NFL security about the incident without a lawyer present which could get the league itself tangled up in the investigation.

Mumbai is the business center and the Hllywood (often called Baliwood) of india. The former city of Bombay, it is now very western in its ways…

AP

A trickle of bodies and hostages emerged from a luxury hotel Thursday as Indian commandoes tried to free people trapped by suspected Muslim militants who attacked at least 10 targets in India‘s financial capital of Mumbai, killing 104 people.

More than 300 were also wounded in the highly coordinated attacks Wednesday night by bands of gunmen who invaded two five star hotels, a popular restaurant, a crowded train station, a Jewish center and at least five other sites, armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives.

A previously unknown Islamic militant group claimed responsibility for the carnage, the latest in a series of nationwide terror attacks over the past three years that have dented India’s image as an industrious nation galloping toward prosperity.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh blamed “external forces.”

“The well-planned and well-orchestrated attacks, probably with external linkages, were intended to create a sense of panic, by choosing high profile targets and indiscriminately killing foreigners,” he said in address to the nation.

Among the dead were at least one Australian, a Japanese and a British national, said Pradeep Indulkar, a senior government official of Maharashtra state, whose capital is Mumbai. An Italian and a German were also killed, according to their foreign ministries.

Police said 104 people were killed and 314 injured. Officials said eight militants were also killed.

The most high-profile target was the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, a landmark of Mumbai luxury since 1903, and a favorite watering hole of the city’s elite.

Police loudspeakers declared a curfew around the Taj Mahal hotel Thursday afternoon, and black-clad commandos ran into the building as fresh gunshots rang out from the area.

Soldiers outside the hotel said the operation would take a long time as forces were moving slowly, from room to room, looking for gunmen and traps.

About 10 to 12 gunmen remain holed up inside the hotels and a Jewish center, a top Indian general said. The remaining gunmen appeared to have been killed or captured, Maj. Gen. R.K. Huda told New Delhi Television.

Authorities said 110 people died and 300 were injured when suspected Islamic militants — armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and explosives — launched a highly coordinated attack against 10 sites in the city Wednesday night.

Officials said eight militants were also killed.

Dozens of people were being held hostage at the hotels, as well as a nearby Jewish center, by the well-trained and heavily armed gunmen, authorities said.

When Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt negotiated with People and other celebrity magazines this summer for photos of their newborn twins and an interview, the stars were seeking more than the estimated $14 million they received from the deal. They also wanted a hefty slice of journalistic input — a promise that the winning magazine’s coverage would be positive, not merely in that instance but into the future.

By Brooks Barnes
The New York Times

According to the deal offered by Ms. Jolie, the winning magazine was obliged to offer coverage that would not reflect negatively on her or her family, according to two people with knowledge of the bidding who were granted anonymity because the talks were confidential. The deal also asked for an “editorial plan” providing a road map of the layout, these people say.

The winner was People. The resulting package in its Aug. 18 issue — the magazine’s best-selling in seven years — was a publicity coup for Ms. Jolie, the Oscar winner and former Hollywood eccentric who wore a necklace ornamented with dried blood and talked about her fondness for knives before transforming herself into a philanthropist, United Nations good-will ambassador and devoted mother of six.

In the People interview, there were questions about her and Mr. Pitt’s charity work and no use of the word “Brangelina,” the tabloid amalgamation of their names, which irks the couple.

Through a spokeswoman, People magazine, which is owned by Time Inc., released a statement denying that any conditions were placed on coverage. “These claims are categorically false,” the statement said. “Like any news organization, People does purchase photos, but the magazine does not determine editorial content based on the demands of outside parties.”

While all celebrities seek to manipulate their public images to one degree or another, Ms. Jolie accomplishes it with a determination, a self-reliance and a degree of success that is particularly notable. The actress does not employ a publicist or an agent. The keys to her public image belong to her alone, although she does rely on her longtime manager, Geyer Kosinski, as a conduit.

Jennifer Lopez, who sold pictures of her twins to People for an estimated $6 million in February, has a team of eight to help her navigate such situations. Ms. Jolie, 33, has her cellphone, a lawyer and Mr. Kosinski (and, of course, the counsel of her partner, Mr. Pitt). Getty Images handled the photography and some negotiations.

“Barack Obama is just like Lincoln,” a youthful and eager fan reported to me.

And I thought: except for the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, the preservation of the Union and his record as President of the United States.

Bill Sammon of the Washington Examiner said, “The American press has turned into a joke by comparing Barack Obama to FDR and Abraham Lincoln. They do him no favor by raising expectations to a level that is not achievable.”

Barack Obama, the first ever black man elected to America’s highest office, should be honored for sure; but we should also put our regard for him in proper perspective and watch how the next four years transpire.

Barack Obama is still, to me, a potential agent of manifest change: and not yet a historically overpowering figure we honor for his many accomplishments.

Oh I agree with others that the election of a Black American is historic and memorable; but while it says a lot about our new President-elect it says more to me about the American people.

The notion that Barack Obama is, in many ways, “Linconesque,” is at least premature and could seem a tad bizarre, especially to historians seeking meaning, accomplishments and proven character.

Obama has not yet managed through his Cuban Missile Crisis, his Vietnam War, his Great Depression or whatever real crises we can anticipate — and even whatever nobody could ever anticipate like George W. Bush’s “Nine Eleven.”

Yet both Lincoln and Obama certainly share Illinois and a place in history. Lincoln’s place in history is “writ large.” We do not yet know if Barack Obama is a chapter or two of history; or just a paragraph or two.

President-elect Barack Obama answers a journalist’s question during his first press conference following his election victory in Chicago, November 7, 2008.(John Gress/Reuters)

Barack Obama grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia. He graduated from Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was president of the Harvard Law Review.

Obama is an “indoorsman,” who wrote two books about himself and arguably became addicted to his BlackBerry.

Lincoln was an outdoorsman who grew up in a log cabin in the rough “west” of the United States in his time, including Kentucky and Illinois.

Wikipedia says “Lincoln struck out on his own, canoeing down the Sangamon River to the village of New Salem in Sangamon County. Later that year, hired by New Salem businessman Denton Offutt and accompanied by friends, he took goods from New Salem to New Orleans via flatboat on the Sangamon, Illinois and Mississippi rivers.”

Lincoln’s formal education consisted of about 18 months of schooling, but he was largely self-educated and an avid reader. He was also a talented local wrestler and skilled with an axe.

Barack Obama is skilled with a computer keyboard, a teleprompter, and as a very eloquent public speaker and, though I myself have been moved by the style of many Obama speeches, the next day I have found something sometimes lacking. Yet like some of Mister Lincoln’s orations and remarks, Mr. Obama’s speeches are filled with “hope” and “change.”

Above: Barack Obama before a crowd in Germany. Photo: Getty Images
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Lincoln participated in the most studied and recalled political debates ever held in America.

Barack Obama’s debates with John McCain will be recalled for one thing only: Obama became the elected president.

“I don’t think we need any big media-run productions, no processed questions from reporters, no spin rooms, just two Americans running for the highest office in the greatest nation on earth responding to the concerns of the people who’s trust that we must earn,” John McCain said well before the debates with Barack Obama.

The nation ended up with far fewer than ten debates and not one came close to resembling the famed and historic Lincoln-Douglas debates.

But the world is a different place now and our national attention span and will to concentrate is short for good reasons, even though we are multitasking…

Creators Syndicate

WireImage
Access Hollywood

Barack Obama and his wife Michelle are pretty much comfortable everywhere — from public speaking in Germany to Bill Ayers house and onward to Oprah’s TV show and to Hollywood.

Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd, which many historians believe was at least “on the edge” and probably crazy, were famously uncomfortable in most settings. Many Hollywood and TV people today say that Lincoln’s looks would probably make him unelectable today.

Lincoln mourned the loss of one of his own children: and he watched in horror as Civil War casualties bled the nation white. He even took the time to pen a letter to a grieving mother who lost five sons in “Lincoln’s war.”

Lincoln’s most famous oration, the Gettysburg Address, took just two minutes to deliver. For more than a century, American school children memorized this magnificent piece of writing and oration, one of the finest speeches ever given in America, some say, and all in less than 280 words.

On the day of that address, Lincoln was not the featured speaker, who droned on for some time. But nobody without a deep history education can even recall the man who delivered his remarks before Lincoln on Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the cemetery in Gettysburg.

Soldiers National Cemetery, Gettysburg

Lincoln freed the slaves and preserved the Union. So far, Obama freed the media and the electorate of the feeling and belief that racism kept good men of color from key posts.

Lincoln was unafraid of firing his top generals — and then while U.S. Grant was gaining ground and winning battles and his staff said the man was a drunk, Lincoln issued an order to send Grant a case of his favorite spirits, or so the story is told.

Lincoln in the field during the Civil War

Lincoln had to sneak into Washington DC for his inauguration. Obama will be greeted by a throng of millions.

Lincoln assembled a cabinet that was a train wreck of disagreement to the point of dysfunction. Some in the media today say that Obama is emulating Lincoln’s ability to be “inclusive” in his cabinet selections.

But Lincoln did famously “reach out” to all great leaders who could help him including the Catholic Archbishop of New York, “Dagger” John Hughes.

Linoln also gave a seemingly open door to the White House to Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who pushed President Lincoln to create and issue the Emancipation Proclamation — against the advice of many including his top military commanders.

Above: Frederick Douglass, in about 1879.

Above: Lincoln met with his cabinet on July 22, 1862 for the first reading of a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Barack Obama’s challenges have yet to unfold.

Lincoln’s challenges were manifest.

History has judged Lincoln. Obama’s first full chapter, now, at least in part, well chronicled by eager contemporary media scribes, is mostly still a way off for historians to evaluate.

John E. Carey
Wakefield Chapel, Virginia
November 19, 2008

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The Topeka Capitol Journal began an article on November 9, 2008 with, “Plans are being made to promote a national holiday for Barack Obama, who will become the nation’s 44th president when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20.”

My Vietnamese American relatives say, “We seem to have the Easter before the Palm….”

Lincoln’s Day, once celebrated on his birthday, is now largely forgotten and squeezed out by the celebration of other great Americans like Martin Luther King. Frederick Douglass has no day at all. It might be prudent to hold off on the “Barack Obama Day” just a tad….

A majority of Americans say Hollywood doesn’t share their moral values, according to a poll commissioned by the Anti-Defamation League, a group that fights anti-Semitism.

Sixty-one percent of those surveyed said that religious values in America are “under attack,” and 59% agreed that “the people who run the TV networks and the major movie studios do not share the religious and moral values of most Americans.”

By Gregg Kilday, Reuters

Tourists pause on a walkway at a shopping mall which offers a view of the famed Hollywood sign at the hills in California March 14, 2008.(Fred Prouser/Reuters)

The poll, titled “American Attitudes on Religion, Moral Values and Hollywood,” was conducted by the Marttila Communications Group, which surveyed 1,000 adults nationwide. It was released Friday at the ADL’s annual meeting in Los Angeles.

“These findings point to the challenges that we face in dealing with issues of religion in society,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director. “The belief that religion is under attack underlies the drive to incorporate more religion into American public life. Disturbingly, 43% of Americans believe there is an organized campaign by Hollywood and the national media to weaken the influence of religious values in this country.”

Among the survey’s findings:

— 61% of respondents agree that “religious values are under attack in this country,” while 36% disagree with that statement.

— 43% said that Hollywood and the national media are waging an organized campaign to “weaken the influence of religious values in this country.”

Democracy today suffers from political correctness gone mad. Whether motivated by innocence or ignorance, idealists push for unbridled tolerance. They do so without a reality check, failing to see how it can then be manipulated against us by those seeking to do us harm.

Last month, for example, the Archbishop of Canterbury called for theapplication of Islamic law, in some instances, for England’s growing Muslim population. Putting aside the nightmarish conflict of laws issues this would create, such a call demonstrates a total lack of appreciation for a basic, irresolvable difference between Islamic and Western law — one making it impossible for both to co-exist within the borders of the same democratic state.

Western law, predicated upon the U.N.’s 1948 Declaration of Human Rights, recognizes such rights as being universal to all mankind; Islamic law, predicated upon the 1990 Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, recognizes only those human rights sanctioned by Shariah — which means women and non-believers have no such rights.

The good Archbishop may well possess the heart of a saint, but he possesses the logic of one so focused on political correctness as to blind him to the damage Shariah would do in destroying the very multiculturalism he seeks to promote.

Under Shariah, as interpreted by extremists, it is either the Islamic way or the highway — the highway of death.

Granting Shariah a foothold in England would begin a push for fewer and fewer rights for non-believers — eventually to include their right to life. It would mark the beginning of the end for organized, civilized societies, as today’s fast growing Islamic populations in Europe continue to outpace native populations in growth — the former eventually destined to become a majority. When that happens, we might well see the replacement of all Western laws with Shariah. The Archbishop’s call for Shariah to be recognized in England came as two Muslim-dominated societies very recently demonstrated their inability to tolerate any religion but Islam.

In January, Malyasian Customs officials confiscated 32 Bibles from a Christian woman arriving at Kuala Lumpur Airport. While just last week, it was reported, Christian missionaries in Jordan are actively being denied visas or deported for proselytizing Christianity — an illegal activity under Islamic law. Thus, the tolerance towards Islam the Archbishop seeks to promote bygranting Shariah a foothold into Europe is not being reciprocated in Muslim-majority countries — even where Islamic extremists are not in control.

If Muslim-majority countries – not controlled by extremists – are showing such intolerance now towards the introduction of other religions, one can only imagine the impact awaiting Western laws and values once Muslim populations gain majority control in European states.

Just as the Archbishop appears blinded to the realistic impact of his call for the introduction of Shariah, Hollywood too promotes its own idealistic and irresponsible version of political correctness – glossing over the reality of the enemy’s brutality.

A newspaper article about Alex Gibney’s Oscar-nominated documentary, “Taxi tothe Dark Side,” describes the film as investigating “some of the mostegregious abuses associated with the so-called ‘war on terror.’” It allegedly tells the story of “an Afghan taxi driver who was detained by the United States, then tortured to death.”

The stories of al-Qaeda’s brutality are endless; yet filmmakers fail to tell these stories, choosing instead to bash America and her warriors in their fight against evil. In doing so, the Muslim anger generated by such anti-American films is then directed against our servicemen and women fighting to set these same Muslims free of the evil-doers. We are at war with an enemy lacking limits on his barbarity.

It is this story — one of al-Qaeda’s abject brutality relative to the occasional harsh treatment of terror suspects by the U.S. — that needs to be told.

Not one film has been produced to tell the story of al-Qaeda’s use of mentally disturbed women and children as unwary suicide bombers. Not one has been produced to tell the story about al-Qaeda’s practice of “baking” children of parents who, having resisted joining the terrorist group, are then served their dead child for lunch. A “relative lens” by Hollywood would compare the treatment of U.S.-held prisoners to those held by al-Qaeda.

At Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for example, al-Qaeda suspects held in U.S. custody have gained weight — an average of 20 pounds and one prisoner more than 100. Such weight gains are unheard of during wartime captivity.

Meanwhile, not a single American prisoner captured by al-Qaeda remains alive to tell us about their treatment.

U.S. servicemen have been tortured, decapitated, mutilated and their bodies rigged with explosives to kill those attempting to recover their remains.

Our system is far from perfect. But Hollywood needs to start putting a“relative” lens on its cameras and shining its lights into the dark recesses of al-Qaeda’s brutality.

A society exercising political correctness – not tempered by reason – ultimately will lose all it seeks to gain.
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James Zumwalt is a former senior U.S. military officer who operates his own consulting firm.

Peace and Freedom sincerely thanks the author for this and all his service.

HANOI, (AFP) – Hollywood star Tea Leoni, visiting Vietnam as a UNICEF ambassador, on Thursday kicked off a campaign to raise awareness about the plight of children suffering disabilities linked to Agent Orange.Hollywood star Tea Leoni, visiting Vietnam as a UNICEF ambassador, on Thursday kicked off a campaign to raise awareness about the plight of children suffering disabilities linked to Agent Orange.

Leoni this week visited Vietnamese families and health centres with children suffering birth defects linked to dioxin, the highly toxic chemical in the defoliant that the US military sprayed here during the Vietnam war.

In the United States “the public, I think, is not aware of some of the specific dioxin issues,” the 42-year-old star of “Deep Impact” and “Jurassic Park 3” told a Hanoi media briefing ending her five-day visit.

Britney Spears, who has been embarked upon a very public and prolonged saga of self destruction and drug and alcohol abuse, was released from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last night to the custody of TV head expert Doctor Phil.

“Dr. Phil” McGraw said Britney Spears, though now free of the hospital, still needs psychological help.

Dr. McGraw is the psychologist known for his own shrink show – one of the most watched daytime TV shows seen mostly by women.

Miss Spears was taken by ambulance from her Hollywood home Friday night because of a dispute involving the two sons she had with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

“My meeting with Britney and some family members this morning in her room at Cedars leaves me convinced more than ever that she is in dire need of both medical and psychological intervention,” said the brilliant Dr. McGraw.

“She was released moments before my arrival and was packing when I entered the room. We visited for about an hour before I walked with her to her car. I am very concerned for her,” he said.

McGraw planned to talk more about Miss Spears on his daytime talk show this week, a press release said.

Isn’t that special.

Responding to an e-mail request for further comment from McGraw, a “Dr. Phil” publicist referred The Associated Press to his statement posted on the etonline.com Web site.

Peace and Freedom Note: We have decided to read more about the “media people” who influence our children and our culture. Most of them are not worthy of anyone’s attention….

By Allison Moore
HD Diva

Washington, D.C. (January 5, 2008) — Hollywood hottie Lindsay Lohan was caught taking a swig from a champagne bottle on New Year’s Eve during her licentious tour of Capri, Italy.

That would be just fine — hey, do as the Romans do, huh? — but Lohan is supposedly recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. She pled guilty to drunken driving and cocaine possession last year in Los Angeles.

The Associated Press reports that her attorney claims the New Year’s misstep was just a one-time thingy.

Swear.

“After being handed a champagne bottle while on a dance floor in Italy on New Year’s Eve and drinking from it, the good news is that Lindsay immediately stopped, called her sponsor, and got herself back on track,” said the attorney, the alliterative Blair Berk.

We hear that she didn’t inhale, either.

Lindsay Lohan

Lohan dressed for church.

Berk’s statement might be believable — if Lindsay wasn’t also seen in Italy this week making out with three different men over a 24-our period.

“Unfortunately, Lindsay has to share her ‘one day at a time’ with the entire world,” Berk said.

This is meant to reflect deep concern for the shallowness of some of America’s culture and to indicate great concern for our youth.

We don’t have enage daughters so we try not to pass judgment on those youngsters and their offspring — or their parents. But sometimes, it is darned near impossible to resist commenting upon the morals and antics of our young people in our extremely permissive society.

Last night, Britney Spears was removed from her home by police and emergency workers following a three hour stand-off with the father of her children, Kevin Federline.

Reporters said she was handcuffed and in an ambulance when she arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. The incident concerned cutody for the couple’s sons, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James.

Police and hospital officials said Miss Spears was under the influence of something which they did not disclose or discuss.

Five days before Christmas, the sixteen year old star of “Zoey 101” Miss Jamie Lynn Spears, Britney’s sister, announced that she was pregnant with the child of her boyfriend one Casey Aldridge.

Jamie Lynn Spears

Jamie who needs a condom and a lecture.

“I was in complete and total shock and so was he,” gushed the younger Miss Spears.

Well: here’s a newsflash. Every sixteen year old knows if you have unprotected sex there are consequences.

The TV show the 16 year old stars in has become the most popular TV show for girls between the ages of and 8 and 12.

The mother of the Spears youngsters is Lynn, already a grandmother to Britney’s young sons.

Said Lynn: “I didn’t believe it because Jamie Lynn’s always been so conscientious. She’s never late for her curfew. I was in shock. I mean, this is my 16-year-old baby.”

Grow up grandma.

Jamie Lynne’s future on TV could be in danger, at least for a short time, and her mom’s book on parenting has been “shelved” by her publisher.

Jamie Lynne Spears and Casey Aldridge

The parenting book was to have been published by a Christian book company.
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Lindsay Lohan is another “star” who has questionable appeal as a “role model.” She is only a photogropher’s model and her looks won’t last especially if she continues to abuse drugs and alcohol.

The actress has been in and out of rehab after two arrests last year on drunken driving and cocaine charges. Early in 2008 she posed nude in a Marilyn Monroe look-alike spread.

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Today another teen heart throb entered the “News About My Sex Life” arena. Nineteen year old actress Vanessa Hudgens discussed what she called the “traumatic” scandal concerning her nude photos appearing all over the internet.
(Frazer Harrison, Getty Images)

Another news flash: in our digital age one had better not pose for porn lest it become for sale on the open and world-wide media circus. Only a few Chinese who are subject to tight state internet and other media restrictions will miss out on seeing Miss Hudgens “in the buff.”

Maybe all this titillation from teen girls is just to gain more media attention? One wonders….

I remember when the worst thing a sixteen year old could do would earn him or her some time after school or a delayed shot at getting a drivers license. Even at 19 my friends thought drinking three beers was a dangerous sport of epic proportions.

One wonders what the sons and daughters of drama queens Hudgens and Spears can possibly do to shock their parents in 16 years from now…..

I guess it is hard to find a virgin in today’s America above the age of, say, 10? And parenting has become, well, as permissive, “tolerant,” accepting and understanding as it can get. Bill Clinton must be delighted.

Nearly four months after a nude photo of High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens hit the Internet, the 19-year-old actress has issued fans another mea culpa … well, sort of.

In the latest issue of Seventeen magazine, Hudgens said she’s not sorry for taking the risqué picture, which she repeatedly called “private,” but sorry instead for getting caught.

“It’s very unfortunate, because with the Internet these days, you don’t have a personal life,” she told the magazine for its February cover story. “Nothing is private: Everyone knows everything, and they can find out everything about you. You’re not as safe as you think you are, and you have to be aware of the people you’re around. It was something that was meant to be private, and even though it isn’t anymore, I’d still like to keep it as private as I can.”

Hudgens’ remarks to the magazine somewhat contradict an earlier statement issued days after the leak by her management, in which she apologized to her fans and said she felt embarrassment and “regret [at] having ever taken these photos.”

Although she recently admitted to Seventeen that the incident was “traumatic” and made her “extremely upset,” she said she’s “much better now” thanks in large part to her “family, friends, and fans, who supported me all along the way.”

Specifically, she singled out her mother to the magazine as particularly supportive.

“I was just open with her, and she was just so cute. She was like, ‘Well, everyone can be naked if they want to,’ ” Hudgens told Seventeen. “My parents are very supportive of me. And they know I’m a teenager, and yes, kids do stupid things sometimes.”

According to the article, Hudgens found out about the photo leak while out of the country. She claims the distance made her better equipped to deal with the resulting fallout.

“I found out from my manager,” she revealed. “We heard some story was going to break in the tabloids, and I was like, ‘What?!?’ A few days later, the picture came out while I was on vacation in Australia. Thank God I wasn’t home. It would have sucked if I was at home. So I got to be away from L.A. for about a millisecond. But when I came back, it got kind of crazy.

“I hope all my fans can learn from my mistake and make smart decisions,” she concluded.